Sunday, March 4, 2007

Dare to be Dangerous

The title of today's post was the theme of our women's retreat held this weekend. The fellowship was sweet. There were so many precious, godly women who I enjoyed getting to know very much. And then I had my girls....some fellow young-uns (twentysomethings)....and we just laughed so hard all weekend long. It was a sweet gift from the Lord to get to know a couple girls from my community group better, as well as some fellow staff-wifers that I've been wanting to spend more time with. I had FUN with those girls!!! And there's a lady I met that I will have to hunt down and beg her to be my friend, she was that cool. She loved God, was completely real, and very smart and funny. And had really cute hair. Which wasn't the most important thing. But still, I loved her hair. =)

Our senior pastor's wife was our speaker, and wow, God really used her in a big way to shake us up, challenge us, and definitely not just keep us comfortable in what we know. We really were taught how to engage in our community (or whatever relationships we're a part of) to bring people to Jesus. God answered prayers, like He loves to do, and we were blown away by all of the practical ideas He put on each of our hearts to do for people in order to show them Christ. This is an area I have needed to be challenged in, and I definitely want accountability in living this way. I think I've mentioned on this blog before a little book by Lynne Hybels called Nice Girls Don't Change the World. I want to post an excerpt from that book, because it really captures what this retreat was about. It's so hard to share what all God did this weekend (it usually takes me a while to process it all), so I thought this might sum it up better:

The definition of a dangerous woman: "A woman who shows up with everything she is and joins the battle against whatever opposes the redeeming work of God in our lives and in our world. A dangerous woman delves deeply into the truth of who she is, grounds herself daily in the healing and empowering love of God, and radically engages with the needs of the world. My move toward the realm of dangerous women was prompted by the realization that I was living without passion, energy, dreams. Inspiration came from dangerous women I met along the way. From college students and empty-nesters. Young moms and grandmothers. From women crossing lines of age, race, and culture. Women mentoring one another and sharpening skills. Women volunteering time. Raising money. Thinking creatively. Taking risks. Reinventing their lives. Following their God-given dreams. Dangerous women. World-changing women. That's what I want to be and that's what I hope you will be. All of us. Together."

Another quote from Lynne: "Never doubt that a community of thoughtful, committed women, filled with the power and love of God, using gifts they have identified and developed, and pursuing passions planted in them by God - never doubt that these women can change the world."

0 comments: